The Times and Democrat from Orangeburg, South Carolina • 1

THE WEATHER SOUTH CAROLINA Fair to partly cloudy through Saturday. Seasonable temperatures Friday. Highs 48 to 56. Colder Saturday. TODAY'S THOUGHT Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.

Proverbs 4:10. AT SOUTH CAROLINA'S CROSSROADS OF AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROSPERITY ORANGEBURG, SJC. 29115 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1968 10 CENTS DAILY 15 CENTS SUNDAY VOL. 111 NO. 40 mm 0 LiU vs nn.

nn ifeuofl mm OD i Officers Blast Rioting Negroes T' More Pictures On Page 10 1 I 1 11 A 4 By FRANK K. MYERS Of The Times and Democrat What was, expected to be a routine assignment to cover a racial situation at the Shopping Center Thursday night turned out to be coverage of a fire fight between National Guardsmen and Negroes on the South Carolina State College campus which left three Negroes dead, over 30 wounded, and a State Highway Patrolman injured, The dead Negroes were identified as Sam Hammon and Henry Smith, home addresses not known and Delano Middle-ton, 17; of Orangeburg. Names of the wounded were not available Thursday night because of confusion and the rash of work which kept doctors and assistants In the Emergency Room of the Orangeburg Regional Hospital too busy to take time to make records. The injured State Highway Patrolman, who was treated for a blow over the nose from a two-by-four piece of lumber and who was treated and dismissed at the hospital, 1 was identified as D. J.

Shealy. Shortly before 1 a.m. Friday, when this reporter left the scene I i r) -i 1 I nX 7 Hf I "fi it v'' l'J i ''ft hi i- i The deaths and wounds result ed from an unexpected and violent flurry of shotgun, rifle and pistol shots that lasted less than a second and which sounded to the uninitiated like a string of Chinese firecrackers going off. But the seriousness of the situation was emphasized by the whine of bullets overhead heard by this reporter and others on the scene. But it was not the first time mat I heard the whine of bullets that night.

After seeking warmth in an automobile at the Shopping Center operated by Robert T. Stevenson, city administrator, and being briefed as to what had happened up until that time, Stevenson decided to go to the Railroad Corner. I remained after learning that Harry K. Floyd, operator of the All-Star Bowling Lanes, whose refusal to accept Negroes as customers had apparently touched off the series of demon- stratlons, had. agreed to close his establishment at the request of city officials shortly after p.Ri," aftu" remaining open all day without incident When Stevenson failed to return, I enter my own car and drove to the intersection of North Boulevard and Amelia St.

where, ignoring the directions of a city policeman, I parked In the closed lot of the Green Fuel Co. service station. I was not to remain there long. The city policeman shouted to me: "Get that car out of there! They've been shooting down that way." Even as I opened the door to get out I heard the whine of a bullet, not too close but close enough. My foot hit the starter and I burned rubber getting behind the Southern Railroad freight depot.

From there, warned by the policeman, I ran, bent over and puffing, toward a railroad freight car. I was from the shelter of that car that I saw figures come off the campus, throw kerosene or kerosene, and touch off a bonfire which threw a weird light over the campus entry. Then came the Molotov cocktail, a streak of flameTising up the side of the frame building. It seemed only seconds before the fire engines arrived and entered the campus driveway. And it is difficult to remember whether the shooting began before, after or as the trucks rumbled In.

Suffice to say that when the shooting began everyone dropped to even those pro- (See A Page 10) TT i Jr on. North "Boulevard opposite the, college campus, events seemed to be at standstill, both sides waiting for more action, even though the, campus appeared deserted. Law enforcement officers and National Guardsmen were troubled by reports from State College security guards, however, that Negro students had made attempts to break into the ROTC armory on the in; an effort to obtain arms. It was unofficially learned from an unimpeachable source, however, that there were 45 rifles and 1,400 rounds of ammunition in the building. At 1 a.m.

Friday, it had not been confirmed that the rifles and ammunition had been taken. The shooting which resulted in the deaths and the wounded came in a violent flur-rq of shots from State Highway Patrolmen who rushed the front gate of the campus after students apparently threw a Molotov cocktail against the side of a frame house owned by Miss Mamie Brunson, just to the south of the campus entry. Apparent attempts to burn the house down had been made since the racial demonstrations began last Monday night. The patrolmen moved in to protect members of the Orangeburg Fire Department who, after the shooting, quickly extinguished the blaze. What was apparently another Molotov cocktail had been thrown a-gainst the side of the W.

A. Livingston Wholesale Grocery warehouse earlier in the night. It had been a target for incen-daries, also, since the demon-stratlons began Monday night. I 1 -''J Photo by Dozier Mobley of Th Aocitad rkrt photo by Tht Tbnw And Otmocrat HENRY SMITH, AGE 18, AND DELANO MIDDLETON LAY FATALLY WOUNDED AFTER AN EXCHANGE OF GUNFIRE BETWEEN STATE PATROLMEN AND NEGRO RIOTERS Council Statement Replies To Grievances In a special and closed meeting Thursday afternoon. Orangeburg's City Council deliberated upon 12 "grievances" submitted to it by students at Claflin University and South Carolina State College Wednesday morning.

Following (he meeting, there was no comment on what transpired from Robert T. Stevenson, city administrator, or any other city official, in the belief that the comments in a prepared statement distributed shortly after the end of the meeting to all news media spoke for themselves. The statements, with the official comments of City Council follow: Statement No. 1: Close down the All Star Bowling Lanes immediately and request the management to change his policy of racial discrimination before reopening. The City of Orangeburg has no authority to close down any shot unnecessarily Into State College campus.

Information filed with city authorities was to the effect that a warning shot was fired Into the air by an officer and not toward the State College campus or toward any person. This was done at the time of the melee in or near the vicinity of East End Motors when private property was being subjected to damage by a barrage of missiles, and after repeated destruction of property of private citizens and assaults committed on motorists. Statement No. 4: The establishment by the mayor of an Orangeburg Human Relations Committee of a bi-raclal nature, with the recommendation that each community select their own representation. The city has no authority beyond the borders of its corporate limits.

At the same time, the city welcomes suggestions and counsel toward the establish ment of a unified organization which will promote the goodwill, peace and tranquility of tht entire community. Statement No. 5: A request thould be made for a public statement of intent from the Orangeburg Medical Association as to its determination to serve all persons on an equal basis regardless of race, religion or creed. The city's position is that the request should be directed to the association itself at this Is a private organization. Statement No.

6: Formulate or integrate (a) (the) Fair Employment Commission in the City of Orangeburg. The city does not feel that a commission as such is needed for the reason that federal laws, regulations and guidelines effec-fectlvely cover questions or pre terns which would co ic within he purview of a fan employment commission. (See Page 10) lawfully operated business. There has been no determination that All-Star Bowling Lanes is operating other than lawfully. Temporary closing of the bowl-ing lanes has been done on a voluntary basis as a matter of cooperation with law enforcement officials in their efforts toward preserving peace and good order and preventing further in-cidents.

Statement No. 2: PollceBrut-ality a. The action taken by the SLED officers was uncalled for, especially the beating of the young ladies. The city has no knowledge of any instance of police brutality committed by SLED officers and will welcome an investigation by governmental agencies, state or federal, to the end that any action Justifiable will be taken. Statement No.

3: Immediate suspension, pending investigation, of the officer who fired a r- I THE FIRING LINE-STATE PATROLMEN CUT LOOSE WITH VOLLEY OF FIRE AT RIOTING NEGROES ON S.C. STATE CAMPUS.